Jerry Brown caves in to unions? We're shocked. Well, not really.

To increase his chances of increasing taxpayers' burden, Jerry Brown has "compromised" with a teachers' union and revised his tax initiative to take $9 billion a year out of the economy instead of the mere $7 billion he intended to take.

[caption id="attachment_68218" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Is there any limit to how much of your money they want?"][/caption]

Whereas there are some who cast this as a "compromise," it's more accurately identified as what it is: Gov. Jerry Brown kowtowing to the people he serves, the people who got him elected, public employee unions. In this case, public school teachers.

Remember when Brown campaigned on the promise that things would be different in Sacramento if he was elected? The only thing different is the amount of taxes he wants Californians to pay. More.

We'd be shocked at such a development, except we warned that it was inevitable with Brown. After polls showed people running from his tax proposal the more they learned about it, Brown's strategy apparently has changed to concoct a new proposal to stretch out that learning curve, heap a greater portion of the additional tax burden on wealthier people and eliminate by one the number of tax increases likely to show up on the November ballot by combining forces with one of them - the California Federation of Teachers. Even Brown understood that three tax increases on the ballot would likely turn off voters big time.

Now there will be two. His and Molly Munger's to raise $10 billion in income taxes on everyone who pays income taxes.

While some may be placated that the new plan is to increase sales tax only a quarter cent rather than the half cent he wanted until he changed his mind Wednesday, Jon Fleischman says "He is also expected to extend the period of the income tax hike from five years to seven.”

Higher taxes are an illusion when it comes to higher revenue, but a hard reality when it comes to the economy. Every extra dime in taxes heaped upon California's upper earners gives them that much more incentive to shield their income from taxes, and/or flee the state. Ask yourself why millionaire many times over Tiger Woods lives in Florida where there is no state income tax, despite having been raised in California, where people in his income bracket now pay 10.3 percent, and if Brown has his way, another 3 percent.

This is what should be obvious to Californians: Brown and his public employee union friends want as much of your money as they can get.

Wouldn't it have been nice if Brown had fulfilled his promise for things to be different and actually reduced the size and scope of government instead of finding more burdensome ways to feed the beast?

=-=-=

{democracy:1583}

WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters to the Editor: E-mail to letters@ocregister.com.
Please provide your name, city and telephone number (telephone numbers will not be published).
Letters of about 200 words or videos of 30-seconds
each will be given preference. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.